Research Article
QUERCETIN IN CALLUS CULTURES OF CLITORIA TERNATEA LINN
Abstract
Callus cultures of leaf, root and hypocotyledon of Clitoria ternatea were developed independently in MS medium supplemented with 1mgl-1 each of 2,4- dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), benzyl adenine (BA), Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and Kinetin. Three months old calli were subjected to phytochemical screening which showed the presence of alkaloids, amino acids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, tannins, saponins, mucilage and proteins. Quercetin, a flavonoid having pharmacological functions was quantitatively estimated by Reversed – Phase HPLC in natural leaf and callus cultures of leaf, hypocotyledon and root. Leaf callus was found to content the highest amount of Quercetin, i.e. 1.21% w/v as compared to other callus while natural leaf extract showed 1.25%w/v of Quercetin.